Two Goals in a Rebuild - Need Advice

[arras]

I am going to be gathering parts to build/rebuild my main gaming computer. My main goals are to cut back the noise my machine makes and to decrease power consumption as much as possible.

Currently, I am running the following

Antec 900 case with 4 120mm
Antec 500W Earthwatts PSU
AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana
COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 92mm CPU Cooler
ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel
SAMSUNG 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

This system runs all my games fine, but whirrs when I am gaming (I believe the whirring is coming from the PSU). It is definitely NOT the CPU Cooler or GPU fan. While not a power hog, I would still like to cut back on power consumption if possible.

Considering

**** Need Case Advice **** would like something small, cool, quiet
Intel i3 2100
Likely will use the stock CPU fan
ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
XFX Core Edition PRO450W PSU

Reusing the following:

ASUS Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel
SAMSUNG 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive


So what I need advice on.

My current system has 4 120mm case fans, the Coolmaster CPU cooler, the PSU fan (which whirrs when I game) and the fan on the GPU. The only way I see to cut back on fan noise is to either get a new case or disconnect some of the fans. Do I really need all the fans on the build I am considering? Oh, I keep my PC dust free, no fan/dust noise here.

FYI: The sorts of games I play: Civilization V, EVE Online, Dragon Age, Sins of a Solar Empire...will be playing SW:TOR and Guildwars 2 in the future.

I am trying to keep my budget at $300 but will pay higher for a quieter machine

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

Cheers!

 

[Lutfij]

Antec P180 mini comes to mind though hard to find now...but you could also look at the NZXT Vulcan

If your trying to keep things quiet, you COULD invest in a passive cooler - Thermalright HR 02 (FTW )

Get the XFX 550W PSU, they fair better according to the reviews I've read and you get better headroom with the unit and your future hardware needs.

About the fans - If you CAN find the antec P180, you wont need fans. It has a 200mm fan on top and a 120mm on the back. Intake is up to you.

The i3-2100 runs cooler and has specs(when compared to other intels) better than my Q9550

A build i did for my pals ; http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/314394-13-cable-management-build-opinion#t2343141

I removed the intake and exhaust fans cos of all the meshing ... lots of ventilation.

 

[arras]

lutfij,

Thank you for the quality response. I will take your advice into consideration.

Cheers!

 

[Zenthar]

The Antec 900 is a good case for cooling, changing it might not be worth it.

 

[briansklein]

http://www.acousticpc.com/zalman_zm850hp_quiet_power_supply.html

850 watts doesnt mean youll use all of it. Its a good PSU very quiet and not a bad price. Also its multi rail meaning you wont use the whole PSU just what ever your system requires to function. Meaning less power consumption. My honest opinion. Its your GPU making the noise not the PSU but you said you know what it is so... every gaming build I have ever made had the loudest source as the GPU.

 

[arras]

Hey Brian,

Thanks for the response. I played around with my fans at low, medium, and high settings...even my GPU. The whirrring noise is not from the GPU. The only fan I cannot control is my PSU and I believe that's where the noise comes from.

Thanks for the advice. I will look into that power source.

Cheers!

 

[arras]

Okay, after a week of pulling and replacing parts using spare stuff around the house, I have finally nailed down the whirring. It IS coming from the GPU. Now, I just need to decide if I should get an after market GPU cooler or buy a new graphics card.

I know, I know...wrong forum

Thanks for all the responses and advice, I will now move to the graphics card forum.

Cheers!